Poor Charlie's Almanack
First edition
AuthorPeter D. Kaufman
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SubjectInvesting
PublisherDonning Company
Publication date
2005 (1st edition)
2008 (expanded 3rd edition)
Pages480 (1st ed.),
532 (3rd ed.)
ISBN1-57864-303-1
OCLC250631679
332.6/02/07 22
LC ClassHG4515 .M86 2005

Poor Charlie's Almanack is a collection of speeches and talks by Charlie Munger, compiled by Peter D. Kaufman. First published in 2005 (ISBN 1-57864-303-1), it was released in an expanded edition (ISBN 1-578-64501-8) three years later. It was republished in 2023 by Stripe Press, shortly before Munger's death.

Overview

Charlie Munger was the long-serving vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. This book brings together his investing thoughts beyond his famous statement "I have nothing to add."[1][2]

Munger admired Benjamin Franklin,[3] and the book's title is a tribute to Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack.[4]

Net proceeds from sales of the book go to the Munger Research Center at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California.[5]

Contents

Munger propounds the 'Multiple Mental Models'[6] approach to decision making. This collection of 'Big Ideas from Big Disciplines' contains an iconoclastic checklist for decision-making.

The book is written in an unconventional style. The ideas are not listed in an orderly fashion but just touched upon lightly, with pictures given alongside - in line with Munger's idea to "make the mind reach out to the idea" thereby increasing the idea's retentiveness in memory. The pictures serve to make the idea vivid by increasing their retentiveness and add a bit of geeky humor to the book.

The "Lollapalooza Effect" is Munger's term for the confluence of multiple biases; according to Munger, the tendency toward extremism results from such confluences.[7] These biases often occur at either conscious or subconscious level, and at both microeconomic and macroeconomic scales.

The 25 Cognitive Biases is also explained in the book. Munger explains why people are so psychologically flawed, leading to mistakes in decision making.

Eleven talks

The book includes some talks given by Munger:[8][9]

Reviews

In November 2005, Kiplinger's Newsletter wrote "Munger, 81, has always been media shy. That changed when Peter Kaufman compiled Munger's writing and speeches in a new book, Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger "[10]

In August 2006, The Motley Fool wrote: "With 512 pages, there is something for everyone, and Poor Charlie's Almanack is an impressive and thorough tribute to one of the brightest, most pragmatic, and iconoclastic investment minds ever."[11]

References

  1. ↑ Simmons, Michael. "How One Life Hack From A Self-Made Billionaire Leads To Exceptional Success". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
  2. ↑ Hall, Jason (2015-01-31). "Charlie Munger: 5 Quotes Show Why Warren Buffett's No. 2 is More Important Than You Think -". The Motley Fool. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
  3. ↑ Holodny, Elena. "CHARLIE MUNGER: 'A lot of other people are trying to be brilliant. We're just trying to be rational.'". Business Insider. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
  4. ↑ "Charlie Munger: An Intellectual Who Found Success in Investing - GuruFocus.com". www.gurufocus.com. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
  5. ↑ "Poor Charlie's Almanack and Seeking Wisdom - Official Website of PCA Publications". poorcharliesalmanack.com. Retrieved 2010-09-28.
  6. ↑ Poor Charlie's Almanack, p.46
  7. ↑ Motley Fool Staff (2016-02-26). "What Is the Lollapalooza Effect? -". The Motley Fool. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
  8. ↑ "Table of contents for Poor Charlie's almanack".
  9. ↑ "Table of Contents". poorcharliesalmanack.com. Archived from the original on 2005-03-08. Retrieved 2010-09-28.
  10. ↑ "The World According to "Poor Charlie". Kiplinger's Newsletter. November 2005. Archived from the original on March 21, 2009.
  11. ↑ "Book Review - Poor Charlie's Almanack". The Motley Fool. August 2006.
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